Bitwise teams up with Fresno Police to host first Cybersecurity Summit

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- It's a digital threat that is all too real in the modern world and here in the Central Valley.

"From small business to large international firms, they are all being attacked," said Sergeant Brian Rogers with the Fresno Police Departments Financial Crimes Unit.

Fresno Police Chief Jerry Dyer says cyber crimes are prevalent in Fresno. Each month the Departments Financial Crimes Unit gets more than 300 cases involving cybersecurity. Millions of dollars have been lost to hackers and other criminals.

"We had one case we investigated where the victim lost $1.2 million, so the loss is significant and can be significant," said Dyer.

One of the biggest targets is business. Rogers said the best form of protection is education. That's why they're partnered up with other agencies to host a Cybersecurity Summit.

"Educating your employees, putting into place the right firewalls and software will prevent 90 percent of crimes," he said.

Rogers said locally, one of the ways criminals are luring in pray is through email spoofing. It involves forging a header or logo onto an email to make it seem real.

"It looked like the bosses email, but it was not," said Rogers. "It was a scammer and the money was transferred from their legitimate bank account to an of shores account."

Mark Comin, cyber threat expert with RSA said if you get an email from an unrecognized user do not click on any links.

"They have the ability to put this thing called malware on your phone or your computer and they'll start to harvest your information," said Comin.

To keep your information safe, Comin recommends using a password manager and two-factor authentication when logging into accounts.